Mistakes That Become Miracles
by HateMePretty
Summary: It started with one mistake. One that grew, and grew, and grew, until he found himself to be a life of mistakes. A life of mistakes that becomes a miracle. Farkle-Centric. Riarkle. Implied Lucaya. WARNING: Child abuse.


**WARNING: Mentions of child abuse.**

 **...**

 **i**. It starts with one mistake. One day they messed up and then young Stuart Minkus is married and a father of a little boy with the strange name of _Farkle_.

Who names a little boy _Farkle Minkus_?

 **ii**. But it doesn't stop with one mistake.

He's busy with school and she's busy, too, so _Farkle_ goes to a daycare- it's expensive, sure, and not very good, but _Farkle's_ taken care of.

So Stuart works on making a better place in the world for _Farkle_ and pretends he loves his wife (that he never sees). It's okay though, because it'll get better soon.

 **iii**. It doesn't get better.

Stuart is rising through the ranks of a prestigious company and getting a billion degrees and starting his own company and sleeps at the office with little boy _Farkle_ still at the daycare while his mother disappears for days, weeks, months at a time.

It's okay though, because Stuart spoils _Farkle_ with the fuzziest blankets and the most fun toys.

 **iv**. The most fun toys are often discarded in _Farkle's_ room.

 _Farkle_ gets bored. He doesn't see his father no, _Dad-_ hardly ever, and his mother is an unreachable memory that sometimes comes into focus, only to scream at him and _Dad_ for ruining her life and he doesn't even know what he's done.

 **v**. He doesn't even know what he's done.

But he must've fixed it because everything's gotten better now. _Dad_ 's got an up-and-coming company and _Mother's_ much happier because she has fancy new clothes and a fancy new apartment and a fancy new life.

So _Farkle_ pretends everything is now okay because _Dad_ and _Mother_ smile at him and _Dad_ can make it to the meals made by the chef and _Mother_ drives him to kindergarten in her sleek car driven by Mr. What's-His-Name who stares at her with drool running down his chin.

 _Farkle_ accepts it and ignores the taunting kids and the mean names with mean words, opening a book and losing himself instead.

 **vi**. Opening a book and losing himself instead.

It's spring of his kindergarten year and somehow he's reading college physics textbooks and hiding them from everyone even though he reads them at lunch and recess and when he's supposed to be asleep. He hides them because he pulled it out at dinner on Christmas and _Dad_ told him he was going to be a genius like him until _Mother_ screamed that he had to be normal and put that away _right this instant_ but _how did her six-year-old son get a college textbook anyway_?

Screams come from his parents' room so he moves on from physics to calculus and pretends he doesn't notice his parents sleeping in separate room and _Dad_ 's near-constant business trips.

Around him, everyone's laughing or screaming and he's fading, fading fading.

 **vii**. He's fading, fading, fading.

Nobody sees it, though. They just see _Farkle_ less and thicker, heavier, smarter books. He wonders how their faces can contort into such shapes and pokes his cheeks for hours while staring at the mirror and trying to make his lips shift up or his eyes tear up or _something_.

And it's good that he's emotionless, apathetic, removed.

Especially the day when _Mother_ is tired of being _Mother_.

 **viii**. The day when _Mother_ is tired of being _Mother_.

It's the day _Farkle_ asks to go to a normal school because _he doesn't belong_ everyone chants. _Dad_ is away so he asks _Mother_ but _Mother_ was tired because _they didn't have anything in my size at the store today_ so _Mother_ yells and it's back to before but this time, this time her hand stretches out and he face is pink and he wonders if he should feel something because the maid is shocked and _Mother_ is screaming that _nobody can ever, ever know you idiot boy and poor girl_.

She stills tells _Dad_ to switch him schools and it'll be done before the first grade begins.

 **Ix**. The first grade begins.

His summer was empty of _Dad_ and full of _Mother_ 's temper so he wears brightly colored turtlenecks in the hopes that they cover the bruises and make him seem happy and maybe _just maybe_ protect him from the monsters that lurk out there.

But he still sits where he can't be seen with a big book and nobody around because _it's not different at all here_.

 _Farkle_. What idiot would name their little boy _Farkle_? Nobody wants to be friends with a _Farkle Minkus_.

 **x.** Nobody wants to be friends with a _Farkle Minkus_.

Except for _Riley Matthews_ , who invites everybody from their class to her Halloween party and he suddenly saves her- the vampire in a turtleneck named _Farkle_ dares to save _Riley Matthews_ because her drowning reminds him of going home and- and- and-

And she doesn't laugh at his name. She shushes _Maya Hart_ and pulls _Farkle_ along for so long that he leaves his books in his backpack and he starts to _feel_.

 **xi**. He starts to _feel._

That's not good. _Mother_ doesn't stop but he starts to cry and it only gets harder. His turtlenecks are the best and only way to hide. Turtlenecks and _Riley_ and _Maya._

 **xi.** Turtlenecks and _Riley_ and _Maya._

He hides and he laughs and he becomes like them, sort of. He keeps reading and stops sleeping and ignores his feelings. He gets comfortable.

 **xii.** He gets comfortable.

Then _Lucas Friar_ comes and then he loses _Riley_ and _Maya_ and he turn toward _Smackle_ but _Smackle_ reminds him to hide his _feelings_ and he wonders if he can ever become _Donnie Barnes_ , if he can ever _get out of this mess_.

 **xiii.** _Get out of this mess_.

It's all that pushes him through the drama of high school, all that thickens his skin after each of _Mother_ 's hits.

And while they plan to stay, he hides the other letters because _Farkle is our friends, he wouldn't leave us_.

They open their NYU acceptance letters together and _Riley_ watches as _Farkle_ 's smile drops when he thinks he's alone but _he knew her better than Maya_ in eighth grade and _she knows him better than anyone_ in senior year so _Riley breaks into his house._

 **xiv.** _Riley breaks into his house_.

He doesn't know until he comes home from a (predictable) date with _Smackle_ to find her surrounded by his papers in his room and _he almost loses his temper like his mother_.

But _Riley_ looks up with those _wide, innocent eyes_. She is crying and asking him _why oh why Farkle don't you love us_?

And _Farkle_ tried to keep up the façade of twelve years but _it's been twelve years_ and he doesn't want to pretend like he always does so he cries and blubbers and _he tells Riley_ but _Dad is listening_ and he doesn't see _Dad_ until _Riley_ is staring behind him and _Dad breaks the glass of water he is carrying_ and _Farkle_ knows.

 **xv.** _Farkle_ knows.

 _Farkle_ knows that he ruined everything _just like he did eighteen years ago._

The screaming is so bad and _Riley sweet Riley_ is so worried she makes him _temporarily_ move in with her.

 _Riley_ never tells a soul what he told her because _Daddy his parents are just struggling please can he stay oh Mommy please_. But _Auggie_ lets him sneak out _as long as nothing happens with Riley you hear me?_

And _Riley sweet Riley_ holds him when he cries for hours at night because _Farkle you have eighteen years of pain to let out_.

So _Farkle_ cries and cries and cries and lets go of _Smackle_ and _Maya_ and _Lucas_ don't come by anymore _thouh Zay stops by without the others knowledge_ and _Riley_ says it's the relationships tearing them apart so _Farkle_ doesn't feel guilty.

 _Riley_ surprises him with their matching acceptance letters to _Stanford so far away so safe_ and tells him that they'll live together because she wants to stay away from strangers.

 _Farkle_ doesn't feel right living with someone while unmarried so he slips her the ring the _first night he doesn't cry at all_ and she asks him _why and how_ but he's loved her since she _didn't laugh in first grade._

She laughs and _Zay_ finds out and _Auggie_ finds out but _nobody else_ because not even _they_ saw it coming _but it's just so right_.

 **xvi.** _But it's just so right_.

It's so right that _Riley_ decides they have all the people they need and _Farkle_ calls _Dad_ when _Zay_ 's driving to say _I'm getting married please don't yell at me I love her and I have since she didn't laugh at my name and she listened and Dad is it okay with you_?

He didn't plan to ask permission but leaps with joy when _Dad_ says _yes_ and _Riley_ leaves a message for her parents. She's always wanted a big wedding but _she doesn't care_ because she's happy and this is _her life now_ even if _Maya_ and _Lucas_ and _Smackle_ aren't there.

 _Auggie_ and _Zay_ laugh when _Riley_ mixes up her words and _Farkle_ adds in a few nobody else knows _but eighteen years of unwanted loneliness_ are gone from _Farkle's_ memory the second she kisses him. _It's not something new_ but it's binding and _Stanford here come Farkle and Riley Minkus._

 **xvii.** _Stanford here come Farkle and Riley Minkus_.

It started with one mistake, and a lot more followed. But, in their cramped apartment, _Farkle and Riley Minkus_ study insane hours and become _Donnie and Morotia M. Barnes_ on the days they can't handle struggle _it's okay though_. Because _Farkle_ survived _eighteen years_ with an absent _Dad_ and an abusive _Mother_ and _Riley_ learned to love _family_ even when _Topanga_ and _Cory_ call back and ask _why couldn't we be there_? and she _doesn't know why_.

Because life is a series of mistakes for them- mistakes that become miracles.


End file.
